Viewing page 80 of 117

This transcription has been completed. Contact us with corrections.

Written by Doris H. Blake's daughter away at Radcliffe

#36 Cabot Hall
Radcliffe College
September 22, 1946

Dear folks:
I thought 8 had mastered the a4t [[art]] of this typewtiter, but ...
The physical lasted two hours. They discovered that I have an accemtuated dorsal curve, unbalanced shoulder, tight ankle tendons, and slightly forward shoulders. The nurse will remove the wax tgat [[that]] sometomes [[sometimes]] stops up my ear and probably advise corrective excersises. For gym 8 hear of no excersises;in the choice of sports I chose swimming first and tennis second.
You will be wanting to jknow [[know]] what we had for dinner and supper. Last night's fish creamed with lettuce and tomato, milk, canned peaches, and cookies made the former; for supper there were hot dogsm [[dogs]] cottage cheeze [[cheese]], milk, and cake--angel food, alas--in anticipation of the dance.
After dinner we reported to Songfellow Hall for the reading test. It was divided into two parts--comprehension of large paragraphs and speed in short paragraphs. I remember one in which the relation of the workers' pay to the raw product tax was fully discussed--as clear as a government explanation--with subtle inferences to be made in checking the right answer. Was I glad when I saw that the last was a history of the development of tge [[the]] atomic theory by Dalton; but it floored some girls, I bet. In the second part we were to skim as many paragraphs as we could in four minutes, noting whether they sounded logical or had a fallacy. I guess none of us will have to take remedial English.
Next we were to get an introduction to English Aa in the same hall. Before the professor began to explain he said he would read the incomplete list of those who had been exempt from it. There were 1290 of them in all, including Harvard's, to correct--and nearly all our girls took it. By the way, the enrollment at Radcliffe as I now hear it is about 800. Perhaps that doesn't include the graduate school. At any rate, the Freshman class this year is about 250, almost the same as our graduating class. In Cabot there are many doubling-ups. The catalogue is filled to emergency levels--92 if not over. To return to the crowded lecture hall, a silence swept over the room. It was a surprise and shock. The first name he read was--Doris--A ___. Whew. When he had read  my name the rest of the lecture hyst slipped by completely unnoticed. Alice Glazer, the girl across the hall you remember, [[crossed out]] ene [[/crossed out]] couple across the hall that I first liked-- 's name came right afterwards. Were we happy!
The dance wasn't so bad as I had anticipated. Wore the blue dress and black shoes and nylons. There was a stag line five feet deep; but, naturally, I would have sat out the whole evening if the hostesses had not been very kind and observant. The first boy I dances with was a Fresh from Iowa. Punk dancer. The second came from Buffalo, N.Y. The third was much more interesting-- "Mel" Melligan from Milligan Hall; he was a graduate student who had been in the Army as a meteorologist. "Oh, star gazzer?" I innocently [[crossed out]] replied [[/crossed out]] inquired. "Nothing quite so romantic; I was a weather prophet." He was tremdously educated--had been